I know I've been slow about updating here; I may have some tutorials, walls, and things coming down the pike soon. But that is not today.

Today's update is about hotlinking to stuff on my Photobucket account.

For the cognitively deficient among you: DON'T DO IT. Download the images to your computer and upload them to your own server or a storage place like Photobucket, Tinypic, Box, or whatever. Hotlinking eats up my bandwidth and means that, once my bandwidth is exceeded, other people don't have access to graphics and materials.

Once the 14th, which is when my bandwith is reset, comes around, I'll see about doing a proper update. Until then, those of you who aren't, try being more courteous. Those of you who are, I'm sorry. Images will be back in a week or so.

This tutorial is the definition of "quick and dirty." Possibly it's the shortest tutorial I've ever written. First, though, I have to give a shout-out and credit to girlnamedpixley, who was awesome enough to introduce me to a new and different way of using Photoshop filters to achieve a painterly/mixed-media effect with a photo or screencap. I took it and ran with it in a couple of pieces, and am enjoying it immensely. I think it would be great for artists who are trying to stretch beyond their usual set of Photoshop tools (we all have our favorite features, don't we?), or for beginners who are ready for the next step.

This tutorial can be laid at the feet of ran_cl and uglybusiness, who asked ♥

Okay, down to business. Today, we are making this:



.zip file: here. As always, the .zip file includes: the source image, copies of all the layers, the final result, a screenshot of the layers palette (for those with no CS4 compatibility), and a .psd.

.caveat
This tutorial is really only an introduction to a method; the steps you take and the way you take them (blend modes, blurring, erasing, desaturating, everything!) will change a lot depending on the source material you’re starting with.

Software: PS4, but translatable to earlier versions of PS (to PS7, at least)
Difficulty: Beginner/intermediate. You need to know basics like cropping and how blending modes work, how to use the eraser and smudge tool. That sort of thing.

( the night I painted the sky )

Hurray, finally, resources! For some reason, I tend to post things in threes, so there are three texture packs today.

I've been playing around with different ways of setting up color gradients and blends that aren't quite so plain. "Masterfade" and "A Gentle Acid Trip" are the results of that experimentation, with "Masterfade" as a very gentle end result. It would be nice for using with other textures, or for a simple icon background while "A Gentle Acid Trip" is somewhat grungier and more complicated. "Sweet and Peaceful Rest" is a nice b/w texture good for adding some contrast to other pieces or even using on its own.



( Read more... )

.screencaps: 133 tasty 1280.720px caps of one very flexible Misha Collins in his guest appearance on Nip/Tuck. Unlike some channels *coughCWSciFIcough* the FXHD logo isn't too bad.

Link: MEGAUPLOAD (102MBs)

Samples: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05

(One more than usual, but srsly, I could not help myself.)

.rules/regs: acknowledgment and commenting is always appreciated, so I can have some idea of what the demand is, although I'm always willing to upload more :)

I capped this manually, because VLC has been having hissy fits about auto-capping .mkv files today, so the caps are somewhat out of order as I rewound, went back, and tried to get as much as I could when I wasn't too distracted with staring/giggling like a demented schoolgirl. Oh, Misha, you're so bendy ♥ Anyway, if you want to learn how to make VLC cap without you telling it to, see this fantastic tutorial.

.actual art updates: Icons by the end of the month, I think. It won't be as big as I was hoping, but it should be a bit more diverse... SGA, SPN, Bones, and some randomosity!

I've reached a very obnoxious dead-end with a tutorial I was writing, for a collage/wallpaper, and I'm not sure if I have the heart to go back and try it a third time. Any other tutorials you all want to see?

.big ol' art dump: Most of this stuff is old, material that I've previously posted at aesc, although there is one new-ish wallpaper, modified from the original Hard Time Killing Floor graphic. There's one Castiel (SPN) wallpaper; everything else is SGA.

On the walls, if you want something larger than what is offered, let me know and I will whip something up for you ♥



( he hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything )